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Ceramic Pro 9H, 1 year in.

PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
thanks! Should get my new R by the end of the week provided my Subaru passes the leakdown test today (buyer requested it).

I also had a $50 Amazon gift card and decided to go with the Gyeon Q2 leather shield for the leather seats inside. Price was cheaper than the Carpro cquartz leather, and the reviews seemed more or less equal on the two products!

should get most of my detailing suppies today :D
My buddy and I make fairly large orders, I bring a six pack over to his place and we begin unwrapping. We refer to it as "Christmas Morning." Hahaha.

It's awesome. 10/10 times.
 

annoyingmouse

New member
Location
down south
In my experience with Opti-Coat 2.0, Opti Gloss Coat and CQuartz, their endurance is highly dependent on two main factors.

1. The hardness of the surface. Maybe they don't have enough flex in them, but they are practically indefinite on glass, but you'll be lucky if your bumpers' coating last more than 3 or 4 months. They also don't like soft clear coat even on a metal panel.

2. Extreme temperatures. Despite being hard surfaces, coating don't seem to last long on exhaust tips and wheels.

While the endurance claims are usually disappointing, while they last, the etch\chemical resistance of coatings is far better than I've ever seen from sealers or waxes.
 

JD-1

Ready to race!
Location
06468
I'm getting my car coated with Crystal Serum Light this weekend. I'm hoping for good results but not planning for anything crazy. My detailer is a straight shooter and offered a really good price on a more expensive coating (gtechniq ultra) but without being able to see his actual cost for the product. I ended up talking myself into getting PPF on the bumper and hood instead of spending $600 on a coating that you can't get any details on aside from authorized installers. I could of basically gotten their best coating, or gotten the cheap coating with some PPF. I'm paying about $1350 which is going to include full car prep wash/decon/single stage polish, xpel applied to b pillars, hood, bumper and then crystal serum light 1 coat.

My plan was to wash the car bi-weekly with carpro reset, hit the car with gyeon/carpro iron remover if necessary then use reload as needed. Did you apply reload everytime you washed the car?

Also what did you use for quick detailing purposes, such as the car is clean/recently washed but you have a bird dropping or just some waterspot to remove?
 
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EmptyHeaded

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
enSUNitas
How many coats are you guys applying? I've found that the durability increases almost exponentially with each additional coat.

Very happy with my 22ple HPC coating. It's definitely held up well this first year, however we're talking about a SoCal garage queen that gets gently washed about every two weeks or so and finished with VS1. I do have some Finitura that I'm itching to try on top of the HPC, but I've not yet found a reason to use it yet. HPC keeps going, and going, and...
 

PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
How many coats are you guys applying? I've found that the durability increases almost exponentially with each additional coat.

Very happy with my 22ple HPC coating. It's definitely held up well this first year, however we're talking about a SoCal garage queen that gets gently washed about every two weeks or so and finished with VS1. I do have some Finitura that I'm itching to try on top of the HPC, but I've not yet found a reason to use it yet. HPC keeps going, and going, and...
I have two coats of 9H and 1 coat of Lite. I'm sure all are different, and mine was sprayed, not laid. The gloss goes up each coat typically, as you are physically adding depth to the clear coat. Plus durability!

Compared to my other Pure White VW I had, this one, even when filthy, is much shinier.
 

bboytaktix

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
I was surprised how shiny my car looked after only 1 coat of carpro cquartz, even with the filth of dirt and salt from these horrible winter/spring months
 
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PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
I was surprised how shiny my car looked after only 1 coat of ceramic pro, even with the filth of dirt and salt from these horrible winter/spring months
CP is good for that. Does that make up for the price, ehhhhhhhhh, I am leaning towards no still. Especially after I struggled to get water spots off of my hood and roof.
 

bboytaktix

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
CP is good for that. Does that make up for the price, ehhhhhhhhh, I am leaning towards no still. Especially after I struggled to get water spots off of my hood and roof.

sorry I meant carpro cQuartz, I totally got confused and had to re-read your original post since the names are so damn similar. I used carpro cquartz not ceramic pro, and I was quite impressed with the results even though I only put one coat. I might actually add a second coat to the sides and back, once I get to putting a first coat on my front end since xpel should be cured in spring (just finished installing it this past weekend and there are still bubbles that need sun to get them out! we got 10cm of snow yesterday GAH)

Anyways I was initially impressed by the deep gloss the xpel leaves and it actually slightly helped in hiding the larger scratches in the paint that I couldn't remove (nor did I want to go that deep into brand new paint on a new car). Then the car got dirty and I was less impressed, but realize that this type of dirt/grime in winter sucks even if you are coated. The top portion of the car (not the rook but upper portion of doors and hatch) stay very clean and shiny. Well after some snow I was impressed again at how shiny the car still looked even with some dirt and grime on it, and how the snow melts and beads on the paint.

Still think the cQuartz worth it just based on the added protection, even at $80 per bottle. I will finish this bottle in the spring, and probably order another one next spring to strip and re-apply once yearly. I think it will make a big difference in longevity and also make washing during winter easier.

Another question that I had asked in another forum/thread; do you guys use the touchless washes in winter with your ceramic coatings applied? Most people said that their ceramic coating shops told them they could do it, no problem, and not worry. However, I have read somewhere that the harsh soaps used in automated washes can degrade the coatings at a quicker pace since they are not PH-neutral. I would hope this is not true because we have a sweet touchless automated car wash near my work and since I live in a condo where I can't wash my car, this place was my go-to for keeping the car clean.
 

PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
I performed another decon wash on my car last weekend. Results were great. Revived the coating more so then last time.

Washed it with Reset at 400:1 dilution. Using CarPro's new BUG-OFF on the front clip. Safe for PPFs and silica based coatings.

Sprayed everything below the windows, and the hood, with (expired)Iron-X. Light application. Let dwell for 5 minutes.

1 minute into Iron-X dwell I misted lower panels with TRIX due to road work in the area. This softens up tar nicely.

Rinsed with warm water.

Washed quickly again with Reset at 400:1.

Dried using CarPro ECO2o wash at 15:1 spiked with some CarPro Reload. Mixed thoroughly.

Holy gloss and beads Batman! The coating has always maintained it's gloss and depth but over the past year the hydrophobic properties tapered off, as expected. Back to normal now, just took 2 decon washes over a few months to obtain it again. I plan to repeat the Reload application after another wash this weekend. That should take me into winter no problem. Up to this point I have not polished or clayed any area at all. Purely chemical upkeep.

Next year it is inevitable that the unavoidable daily driver battlescars will mount to a point where I must polish. After that I will have to make a choice. Try another coating, or stick with the more regular upkeep methods like a silica sealant or hybrid wax? That will be a hard decision to make when the time comes!
 
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PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
Another question that I had asked in another forum/thread; do you guys use the touchless washes in winter with your ceramic coatings applied? Most people said that their ceramic coating shops told them they could do it, no problem, and not worry. However, I have read somewhere that the harsh soaps used in automated washes can degrade the coatings at a quicker pace since they are not PH-neutral. I would hope this is not true because we have a sweet touchless automated car wash near my work and since I live in a condo where I can't wash my car, this place was my go-to for keeping the car clean.

During the winter I was blessed with a washbay in a heated parking garage, so I cannot speak to any of that. Waterless wash systems in the winter require a lot of time I feel. You can't perform it on a car that is too dirty, so it must be performed frequently. If I didn't have the ability to wash my car in the winter, idk what I'd do :eek:
 

SM075180

Ready to race!
Okay so- as a dude with an appointment this coming week to have CP applied this post makes me nervous.

I’m in northern California, sunny, moderate weather all year round.

I’m reading a lot of winter related issues which make it sound like road salts are the underlying issue. But I don’t want to be just telling myself that’s the problem because I’m excited to finally be doing this.

Can anyone chime in on CP for climates that don’t have to deal with snow and all its problems constantly? Any issues?




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focker

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Sacramento, CA
Okay so- as a dude with an appointment this coming week to have CP applied this post makes me nervous.

I’m in northern California, sunny, moderate weather all year round.

I’m reading a lot of winter related issues which make it sound like road salts are the underlying issue. But I don’t want to be just telling myself that’s the problem because I’m excited to finally be doing this.

Can anyone chime in on CP for climates that don’t have to deal with snow and all its problems constantly? Any issues?

I did cQuartz on my BMW and I won't do it again. No issues with the install but after 4 short months of doing all the Reset/Reload routine it is not that great when you weigh it against my wife's GTI. For her GTI I did a traditional correction/Jescar Power Lock and Collinite Wax. I live just a couple of miles from you so we have the same climate.
 

PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
Okay so- as a dude with an appointment this coming week to have CP applied this post makes me nervous.

I’m in northern California, sunny, moderate weather all year round.

I’m reading a lot of winter related issues which make it sound like road salts are the underlying issue. But I don’t want to be just telling myself that’s the problem because I’m excited to finally be doing this.

Can anyone chime in on CP for climates that don’t have to deal with snow and all its problems constantly? Any issues?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I suspect that in a climate and area where there isn't harsh winters and the associated issues with it, the coating will hold up better. How much is hard to say, but some I'm sure. I will tell you man, for what it costs, I regret it. For what it costs I shouldn't have to decon and Reload it every 3-4 months. So I didn't. What I got was a shiny car that held water spots and stopped beading water after 1 summer. Overall I am disappointed it a few key areas.

1)loss of hydrophobic properties
2)difficulty removing water spots
3)cost in light of the above two complaints

I will probably use CarPro Gliss next round. Seems easy to use and performs better then it's cost suggests. I'm in.
 

SM075180

Ready to race!
I suspect that in a climate and area where there isn't harsh winters and the associated issues with it, the coating will hold up better. How much is hard to say, but some I'm sure. I will tell you man, for what it costs, I regret it. For what it costs I shouldn't have to decon and Reload it every 3-4 months. So I didn't. What I got was a shiny car that held water spots and stopped beading water after 1 summer. Overall I am disappointed it a few key areas.

1)loss of hydrophobic properties
2)difficulty removing water spots
3)cost in light of the above two complaints

I will probably use CarPro Gliss next round. Seems easy to use and performs better then it's cost suggests. I'm in.



Was this Ceramic Pro or CQuartz coating? I’m not familiar with the aftercare product names at the moment so your message is a little ambiguous to me- any clarification is appreciated. :)


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